Friday we got together with some of my favorite BYU roommates (Hillary, Heather, and Brittany)! We greatly missed our other two roommates Katie and Mary! The kids played great and we enjoyed catching up. I always wish I had more time with these lovely ladies.<3 a="" able="" always="" and="" catch="" chat="" for="" i="" it="" kids="" little="" longer="" nbsp="" p="" played="" the="" to="" up="" was="" we="" well="" were="" while.="" wish="">
We left straight from there to take the kids to a little book exchange party at the Roth's then we ate Wendy's lunch in the car and headed to Mantua! We got there around 2 and just enjoyed being with everyone! (Holding new baby Abby and doing tricks with Aunt Laurie!)
We had a delicious dinner around 6 then set up for the kids' talent show!
We forgot PJs for Ben so he opted to wear Dan's hoodie footie. A few of the cousins did some sweet dance moves for their talent. Bethany did some gymnastics "tricks" and Anna was a little too shy to do anything this time. Ben played Away in a Manger and McKenna played her two Christmas songs from her piano recital. :)
Snuggling (or standing on) grandpa, playing bells while singing Jingle Bells, and the men singing a few carols. (The women sang too but I don't think anyone took a picture.)
After kids were in bed (minus Emma and Reed) we played Jeopardy and leg wrestled. I laughed so hard my belly was starting to cramp.
Miraculously, ALL our kids slept through the night! I made hash browns for breakfast and once we cleaned up and most of the kids were dressed, we started opening presents.
It's always so fun to see everyone's thoughtful gifts and generosity from Mom and Dad!! McKenna gave grandma a card asking grandma to let her hair go gray. So funny! We cleaned up and left by 12:45 while it was snowing lots in Mantua. When we got home there was only rain in Bountiful. We unpacked, showered, and the kids got to play with some of their new stuff. Later that night I ran my new robot vacuum for about 15 mins and immediately fell in love!
That evening was the Nelson Family party! The kids made lots of crafts, there was yummy food, and McKenna and Ben participated in the nativity. McKenna was one of the narrators and Ben was a shepherd.
Sunday was Christmas Eve!! We took some family pictures and enjoyed only Sacrament Meeting combined with our neighboring ward. I was able to sing in the choir and Anna sat on the stand with Dan.
Bethany is a goober! We had a chill afternoon watching a Mickey Mouse Christmas show and I worked on making German pancakes for breakfast the next day. We loved having Dan home so much on a Sunday and the kids loved playing games with him. We had our traditional pizza dinner, then cleaned up and set up the kids' sleep over.
We also set out treats for Santa, gave the kids their new Christmas jammies, and then acted out the Nativity. Bethany was quite sad she couldn't hold baby Jesus the whole time, so I had to take her out of the room.
We even got some snow that night for a WHITE CHRISTMAS!
Dan and I watched some "Stranger Things" after the kids were in bed.
Monday was Christmas morning! The next morning the kids woke up around 7:20am, but we didn't go out to see presents till around 8am.
Here are some of the favorite gifts! Magfomers, mermaid tail, new shirt, fake glasses, and a baby and carrier/bottle.
German pancakes were yummy, then we spent time doing puzzles, Legos, and hiding and eating candy.
Ben helped Dan shovel the snow and Grandma & Grandpa Webster, along with Adam, stopped by. We had snacks around 2pm and then watched and napped to" Polar Express." Mickelle came over around 4pm and we got our fancy Christmas dinner ready, then we drove around Bountiful to see some lights. This "Tree of Life" at one of the cemeteries in Bountiful was so cool! On our way home we stopped by Dave and Laurie's to meet their new PUPPY!
Kids were in bed that night by 9 then Dan and I got to set up some of our Christmas presents. I was most grateful on Christmas Day to see that my children were expressing their gratitude as well and there was very little complaining!
Tuesday we went furniture shopping in the morning. We found a sectional couch we really liked at Down East and decided to buy it!
Dan was able to watch a little bit of the Utah bowl game in the afternoon. Dan also took Ben to run some more errands later. We took dinner to Sam and Lara then Dan and kids watched "Troll Hunters" before getting kids to bed. I went to see the "Greatest Showman" with Swa that night and I loved it!!
Wednesday we took the kids to see "The Star" in theaters. It's the nativity story from the animals' perspective. The McKameys and Behunins came too. In the afternoon I went shopping at the At Home store and also picked up some plumbing supplies for Dan who was working on some repairs in the kids' shower. He ended up replacing the valve and the faucet! McKenna got to play with Brittana in the afternoon. After dinner, we took the kids to see Temple Square Christmas lights. Even though it was after Christmas, it was still quite busy, but fun!
Thursday Hannah Kossin babysat while Dan and I went to a date! We went to Top Golf and lunch at Cheesecake Factory (all using gift cards).
Dan has much better form than I do!
The van got an oil change that day as well. Dan and Sam helped each other that afternoon/evening delivering new couches for both of us! We had these couches for about 10 years! They served us well and were still in decent shape. We gave them away to a couple in the ward.
Here's the new one! A gray faux leather sectional with two power recliners. So excited that it will wipe clean easily and it will seat more of us. When the Christmas tree is gone, we will just close the gap. :)
Friday Dan ran some errands in the morning taking boxes to the dump and to pick up a mattress for McKenna's new top bunk bed. I took the girls to Target and Kohl's to look for more home decor stuff (new shower curtain, couch pillows, big girl bedding for Bethany). After lunch the kids took turns running more errands with Dan. I cleaned the downstairs bathroom and entry.
We all went to Condie's that evening. We met Mickelle there and took tacos for dinner. Grandma seemed to be handling the grief of missing Grandpa ok. We sure love and appreciate her thoughtful Christmas gifts!
Dan and I finished watching "Stranger Things" that night!
Saturday Dan went and helped someone from the ward move. We had Lizzie, Desi, Mila, Brittana, and Korie over to play. Ben went up to play with Henry Alexander. We took the kids out to lunch at Iggy's. Kids weren't the greatest, but we were trying to reward them for being so great during Christmas break.
After that we went to get groceries and make some returns. Ben got a hair cut that night and we got to watch some "Troll Hunters."
Here are my Instagram Best Nine from 2017.
Dan couldn't do his "Best Nine". He posts so infrequently that his nine posts would have reached back to 2015 :)
Ben wanted me to take 4 individual pictures of each of his Star Wars puzzles from Grandma Pat.
Sunday, McKenna gave a talk in Primary. We took a a fruit tray to Grandma and Grandpa's for New Year's Eve chillin'. We did puzzles, played games, ate lots of food, then counted down at 10pm. 
Grandma had glow sticks and I just love Grandpa's "glasses" in the back ground of the second picture.
The countdown!
2017 was a great year! We are so blessed to have happy and healthy children and live in a wonderful neighborhood.
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